Living in the Future
by headup-gorgeous
Summary: "Taking in the whole room in hopes of finding something to distract her from this scene, it was then that she knew her true fear that even the tiger hadn't been able to provoke." oneshot:future-fic:character insight: r&r.


_He talks about you in his sleep_  
_There's nothing I can do to keep_  
_From crying when he calls your name, jolene_

_You could have your choice of men_  
_But I could never love again_  
_He's the only one for me, jolene_

- Mindy Smith _ **Jolene**

* * *

The first six months were the worst for Cassie and Nick after Kira left them to return to the states in some insane pipe dream of infiltrating Division. So while she was off god-knows where, they are stuck in a stand-still, the only change being the shitty hotels they some how keep finding. Seemed there is a never-ending supply of hole-in-the-wall motels.

The first time they got a room, when asked by the front desk; if that term could even apply to this crap-shoot, knowing eyes and slimy smiles asking for a double instead of a single bed Cassie shot a darkly amused smirk and arched eyebrow as the Mover next to her stuttered and tripped over his words in shock at being asked such a question. The next moment brought forth the lie that she was his sister and two beds and any other related comments were only going to end with a broken nose, black eye and bruised knuckles. Even then Cassie couldn't help the rush of hurt that sparked in her, an uncommon sensation that she quickly covered up with a snide remark and lewd eyebrow movement.

Flash back to a dock south of Hong Kong on the island of Poi Toi, waiting for a boat she realized the feelings that flooded her body when she was in his arms was one of safety and protection, even rarer then the passing waves of attraction and first tingling awareness of a crush on her traveling companion she felt when looking at him. But back in the hotel lobby, toeing her scuffed boots into the there-bread carpet, the spark of jealousy and loneliness rushed in as she watched Nick's temper rising as he talked to the clerk. Without a doubt knowing that if she was Kira they would have never had this issue. For the first time without the curse of Seeing, Cassie knew that the Pusher was never going to leave them alone.

Many nights and motels later, they were located in the outskirts of a small coastal town in Australia waiting patiently for any word from Kira; any word that things were ready to start against Division but until then all there was to do was wait.

Sitting in a faded seat that had seen better days, Cassie celebrated her 14th birthday bathed in the washed out glare of the nearby street lamp. Sleep had become a distant memory; if she was lucky, she would get just 2 hours undisrupted by her Sight and it seemed tonight was no different, even if it was her birthday.

She drew her legs up against her chest; the blonde Watcher did what she did best and just watched as her sole care in this cruel world stretched out in his bed. Resting on his stomach, arms outspread and face relaxed. Tilting her head to the side, blue eyes older then her years slipped closed as she felt a familiar tugging in her mind as another hotel room appeared in her mind with startling clarity. A single bed replaced the two of reality, red carpet covered in beige, but he was there, Nick, alive and breathing without a scratch. She felt a smile crawl up her thin lips but then a sickeningly familiar hand, a feminine hand appeared at the exposed section starting at the small of his back from under the covers and began trailing their way up his bare back in the way only a lover could. Biting her lower lip, brown eyes glowed with triumph not love, lust not affection as the tip of her tongue darted out to lick her lips.

Taking in the whole room in hopes of finding something to distract her from this scene, it was then that she knew her true fear that even the tiger hadn't been able to provoke. There wasn't a single thing in that room that was hers. No sketchbook littering the coffee table. No boots scattered on the floor or bottle of hair colors on the bathroom sink counter. Not a single trace of her in his life.

"Kira…"

For a moment she thought he had woken up in her vision but then she saw her markers on the table and duffel on the opposite chair. Unable to help herself, she waited in rapt attention as those lips parted in sleep and that word escaped into the room again.

"Kira."

Biting her lip to hold back the urge to lean over and slap him awake, the act did nothing to stop her stomach from dropping and the unfamiliar burning behind her eyelids. Cassie reached up and pushed the heel of her palms into her eyes, trying to push back the tears along with these unwanted feelings. She couldn't help but wonder if her mother had seen this pain in her future when she told her 6 year old daughter about the man and the flower before she was captured.

Thinking back, her red rimmed eyes rest back on the figure on the bed as fingertips itched with the urge to draw what she Saw, force of habit. She resisted and pushed it down, there was no way she could hold her tongue when that hopeful puppy-dog look, that she knew would appear on his face at the idea of his precious Kira finally coming back.

Never in all her 14 years of life did Cassie Holmes ever delude herself into believing the world was fair but fuck, she deserved something after everything life threw at her. An alcoholic mother missing more than a few crayons from the box, a father who claimed her after the abduction of her mother for the sake of the ponies only to lose her in a game of poker 3 years later. She never had anything that was hers' other than her sketchbooks but even those more belonged to her Seeing then herself. But when it came to the handsome Mover, she wanted to be selfish. No Sniffers, No Division, No shitty motels and most of all no Kira. And in that moment, barely coming into her own in a shitty motel in a forgotten town, the blonde watcher hated her powers. Because it was bad enough that she knew without a doubt she was going to lose him but she had to actually See it, a future without her in it.

Kira pushed and pushed, moving Heaven and Earth to her whim, the whole world nothing but pawns. All this force bottled in single form, more lethal than an avalanche and hurricane with Cassie unable to do anything but watch it unfold; the lonely oracle with nothing but markers and sapphire eyes.

Unable to resist, her gaze jumped to the well lit liquor store across the dirt road. Maybe if she cleared her mind, a better vision would take its place. Tapping her fingertips on the table, nails bitten down before she subconsciously began to trace the lotus flower and then the tiger, now this tiger had brown hair and matching eyes.

"Cassie, what the- what are you doing up?"

He sleepily took in the deep look completely unsuited for her young face but more achingly familiar to him than chance of innocence. Scattered markers and open sketchbooks brought him hope. She could see it rise in his eyes like the never-ending phoenix that left her singed in its wake.

"Did you see something? Was it Kira?"

Bitter bile and harsh words threatened to erupt, hiding in the shadows she watched the only man she knew without a doubt that she would ever love drift away like a sailor to the siren's call. She remembered something her mother rambled in her lessons; Cassie, we have the greatest power of them all, but while Oracle's can predict the future most of the gifts of the present are beyond our reach.

"Cassie? What's wrong?" Nervous tone and gentle eyes that normally comforted her now proved to be her downfall.

"She's coming back, it won't be long now." Closing her eyes, she heard the first clap of thunder as the bathroom door swung shut signifying Nick's presence leaving the room. Never removing her gaze from the window, the world stopped and froze then flashed forward but all she saw was a storm on the sea.

A tempest that wiped all the color that she loved so much and turned to grey; a world without her. All she was left to wonder was how much time she had left before she was gone; soon if the vision was any indication.

Happy Birthday Cassie, welcome to your future.


End file.
